Putting Food By - Janet Greene [88]
Canning Soup Stock and Broth
Good broth or soup stock, whether all-vegetable or all-meat or a savory combination, is one of the most valuable staples to have on hand—partly because of its versatility, partly because of its cost at the supermarket, and a great deal because you are the monitor for the amount of salt that goes into it.
The following are the simplest of broths to make. We wish there were room to include delicious variations, but there’s always your own inventiveness or the fun of hunting for specialties in gourmet cookbooks. Another reason for keeping the seasonings simple here: their flavors change too much in Pressure-processing (and you probably like to add your own touches, anyway, when you use the broth).
Broth/Stock from Meat or Poultry
Meaty bones from beef, veal, or lamb and from turkey, chicken, or duck all make good soup bases; beef, veal, and chicken are especially good all-purpose broths for such pleasures as adding your own homemade noodles. Stocks with more pronounced flavors of their own are excellent for sauces or combination main-dish soups.
Freezing also is satisfactory for putting by these broths or stocks, but they really should be boiled down to more concentrated form to save valuable freezer space.
Pressure Canning only. Use Hot pack only. Use pint or quart jars.
PREPARE
Cover the meaty bones with water, and salt only very lightly if you use salt at all: there’s no certain way to remove too much salt after the broth has reduced to the strength you want. You could add a whole peeled onion, a few ribs of celery; some dill if for chicken—all optional. Bring to a slow boil over medium heat, and skim carefully to remove the gray protein froth that will collect: this will take only a couple of minutes. Then reduce the heat to low, and simmer until meat falls from the bones, because simmering is the main way to obtain clear broth.
Lift out the bones and onion, celery, etc.; and when the bones are cool enough, remove any good little bits of meat. Meanwhile let the pot simmer a while longer until the broth is nearly the strength you want it. Pour the broth through a sieve into another large kettle or large bowl; save any meat residues in the colander, discarding gristle, skin, bits of bone, etc.
If there is an accumulation of sediment and little edible pieces, do not throw it away: instead, strain the broth again, and reserve the sedimentary things for a special container that will be used for gravies or casseroles or the like. The simplest way to clarify small batches of stock is to heat it again, and pour it in limited amounts through a coffee filter into a large ceramic or glass coffeepot (which can be emptied as needed into another bowl for de-fatting).
If there is not much fat, you can get it by laying absorbent paper towels gently and briefly on the surface of the stock; change the towels each time they absorb the fat. If there is a good deal of fat, chill the bowls of broth until the fat can be lifted off in a hard sheet. Chicken fat can be saved and used for the pastry or biscuit toppings for meat pies, but the other fats would be welcome treats for birds in cold weather.
PACK HOT IN JARS
Pour boiling hot stock into jars, leaving 1 inch of headroom. Wipe jar rims carefully. Adjust lids.
Pressure-process at 10 pounds (240 F/116 C)—pints for 20 minutes, quarts for 25 minutes. Remove jars; complete seals if using bailed jars.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
All-Vegetable Broth/Stock
Useful, light, with a bouquet that should never be smothered; what is often designated as vegetarian broth should be a staple for meat-eaters too. The main rule to follow—of course in addition to Pressure-processing—is